


With a little help from my friends (who happen to be medically enhanced beings)

by Ruth_Holmgren_mustdie (orphan_account)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: ? I guess, An overuse of italics, F/M, Fluff, Homework, I have no idea what time line this falls into, I suppose, Lots of laughing, M/M, One-Shot, Pining, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pure fuckery, Steve and Bucky live together, They're all stupid, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, a himbo if you will, almost, also michelle knows about spiderman, as a treat, because life is to short to not be self indulgent, bucky barnes is almost self aware, but her and peter arent dating, but like, even though he's just a beefy golden retriever, for moral support, i believe michelle and bucky are kindred spirits, i guess it's pre-infinity war?, i refuse to believe there's a single smart person in the mcu, i wish i was steve rodger's therapist, just me writing what ever the fuck, ned is just kind of there, so i could know why he's Like That, the kids get very intimidated by steve, there are way to many tags for such a short fic, there's not really a plot, we all talk about steve helping peter with his homework, well here it is in cold hard text, whatever man, yet - Freeform, you may have some yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:02:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24559618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Ruth_Holmgren_mustdie
Summary: Peter Parker is very proud of the fact that he gets homework help from Captain America. So when Michelle and Ned need advice for their history paper, he knows just who to call. And besides, introducing MJ to his friendly neighborhood American Treasure (and technical war criminal), can't be anything but good. Chicks totally dig that, right?Steve Rogers likes helping out the kids. May as well do some good as an aging super hero. What he doesn't expect is to be fucking READ by Michelle Jones. Yes, he may live with his best friend of 70 years. Yes, they may say weirdly intense things for a platonic relationship. And yes, they may be in love. But that doesn't mean they talk about it!Idiots. All of em.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Michelle Jones, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers
Comments: 4
Kudos: 131





	With a little help from my friends (who happen to be medically enhanced beings)

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a chapter of stupid people doing stupid things. The best kind of fiction.

"That's it. I'm giving up." Ned smashed his head down on the table dramatically, sitting across from his friends. They were in Mrs. Robert's 11th grade history class, reluctantly writing a group paper on World War ll.

"You know what, I agree. Screw this. Screw the government! I'm done!" Michelle triumphantly dropped her pencil, waving her hands in the air. Peter watched his friends theatrics, and an idea came to his mind. 

"Y'know, I think I know someone who could help." Both Michelle and Ned looked up at him, curious looks on his face. Suddenly, Ned's face lit up with understanding.

"Seriously?" Peter nodded, a smile growing on his face, while Michelle just looked more and more confused.

"What are you two on about?" Ned turned to her, his face as bright as a light bulb.

"Oh, dear, sweet MJ. He's calling _Captain America_." 

\---------

"-Okay, yeah, bye kid." Steve hung up the phone, and had a small smile on his face.

"Who was that?" Bucky asked, across from him in the kitchen, searching for food in the pantry.

"Spider-Kid. Peter." He chuckled. "He said him and his friends need help with some homework for history, gonna pay a visit to the apartment tomorrow." Bucky hummed in response, landing on a box of crackers. Steve enjoyed helping out Peter, because he had what felt like millions of memories of the war he could throw at him. It made him feel kind of old, but in a good way. Steve could get tired of looking so young all the time when on the inside he's well and truly an old man.

This was the first time Peter would be bringing anyone along. "So I'm guess they know about his... super heroism?" Bucky asked, looking up at Steve. Steve barked out a laugh.

"Yes. He said his friend- Neil, I think? Was very enthusiastic about the 'science of super heroes'. And he's bringing another one to- Michelle, yeah I think that's right- I'm not sure how excited she is, but I know Peter is. About her that is. I'm curious to meet her." Bucky nodded along.

"Young love... A beautiful thing." Steve laughed at that, trying to ignore the pull he felt in his chest. The love he felt for Bucky was young, once. But now, it's existed, un-acknowledged, for quite a long time.

\---------

"I still can't believe you know _Captain America_." Ned looked like he had stars in his eyes, as him, Michelle, and Peter waited in the elevator on the way up to the Roger-Barnes residence.

"Does he like, have his shield with him? Like all the time?" Michelle found herself more interested in the liberating parts of history- stonewall, mlk, etc. But the thought that Steve Rogers, Captain America, the man she thought she'd only ever see photos of, was real. And was going to help her on her history essay.

"Guess it's just the perks of being _the spider-man_." Both Ned and Michelle rolled their eyes.

"Oh can it." Michelle mumbled, making the smallest of blushes appear on Peter's face.

"Y'know, Sargent Barnes lives with him, too." Peter, said trying to move the conversation forward before Ned could get a word in about his frankly, school-girl crush tendencies.

"Isn't he like... a super-assassin?" Ned had a somewhat worried look in his eyes, stepping out of the elevator doors as the opened.

"Hey, he's not like that anymore, I watched his trial on the news. He was _tortured!_ He's totally snapped out of it." The boys suddenly looked at Michelle with a confused look. She just shrugged.

"It was a civil rights case, you know my sisters a lawyer. She thinks it's important for me to watch stuff like that." They nodded along with her words, continuing their walk down the halls of the apartment building.

"Well she is right, he's pretty chill. Besides, we might not even run into him." Peter said, speaking mostly to Ned. After only a few more steps, they were at the home of the super soldiers. Peter raised his hand an knocked on the wooden door.

"Hey kids! Come on in." Steve opened the door with his best Captain America smile, shining down on the teens that immediately felt two feet shorter.

They all shuffled in, like ducks in a row, Steve closing the door behind them. Suddenly a chorus of 'Thank you's and 'Nice to meet you's came at him, along with three outstretched hands, with smiles brighter than the sun to match. Of course, he shook each one, greeting them back, still as calm as ever. Even the edgiest kid gets a little star struck by the Captain America.

"Here, you guys can come right over here,-" Steve gestured to the couch, and they all went to sit, already getting out their many notebooks and pencil cases. He sat across from them, in a large, very comfy looking couch chair. "So, what do you need help with?"

\---------

"-So back then, me and Bucky weren't exactly well-off, so nice food was saved for birthdays and holidays. Now you kids probably have a different understanding of nice food, but I remember one of my birthdays, I think I was turning nineteen? Yeah that sounds right, Buck had gotten these two huge Florida Oranges, I swear they were the size of my head. Granted, I was a small guy,-" Steve continued talking, the group of teens taking dutiful notes, as Bucky walked in to the adjoined kitchen quietly. No one noticed his presence until he closed the fridge door, a can of coke in hand. Entering into the 21st century, Bucky had found a love for soda.

"Oh, hi Mr.Barnes." Peter had his classic smile on his face, everyone's eyes now tracing over to Bucky, who was walking towards them.

"Hey, kid. And what have i told you about calling me that? You know you can call me Bucky." Peter nodded quickly.

"Yes, of course, Mr.- Uh, Bucky, sir." Both Steve and Bucky laughed lightly at his nervousness, as Bucky settled onto the arm rest of Steve's chair.

"So who's this?" He asked gesturing to Ned and Michelle, who each had a deer-in-the-headlights look spread across their face, after being referred to by the Winter Soldier- Sargent Barnes.

"Oh, these are Peter's friends I mentioned Yesterday, uh, Ned, and Mary? Melissa? Sorry I'm bad with names." Steve chuckled, slightly sheepish.

"Uh, Michelle, Captain, er, Mr.Rogers." Michelle replied, her face looking plenty red, even though she had a tan complexion. 

"Don't worry about it kid, even when he wasn't an old crone he's never had the best memory." Steve made a groan of detest, but he continued on. "What you guys talking about?"

"I was just telling them about those oranges you got me for my birthday, back in 37'." Bucky's face lit up.

"Oh, yeah! Wasn't that the same year we went to Coney Island and you had the _snow cone incident_?" Steve, the gown man, had the tips of his ears go pink.

"Hey, uh, I don't think the kids really want to hear about that, I mean, we should probably get back to work-" 

"I'd love to hear about the snow cone incident." Steve narrowed his eyes as Peter spoke up.

"Yeah, I want to hear more." Ned added on with a chuckle, finally starting to warm up to the idea of talking to Steve.

"I third that." Even Michelle could see the fun in poking around an american hero.

"There has to be a law against verbally abusing the elderly. There is no way this allowed." Bucky laughed loudly at Steve's detest.

"Well you can't really say anything, you broke about 12 laws, just for me, war criminal." Bucky was literally poking Steve now, who could no longer hide his embarrassment.

"I don't think it was _12 laws_ , I mean-"

"You did still technically become a war criminal for him. I was _there_." Peter said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, okay, we get it, he broke the law for his boyfriend, many have before, now I need to hear about _the_ _snow cone story_." Ned and Peter both stifled back small laughs, as Steve and Bucky seemed to stop in their tracks.

"Me and-" Steve started to stutter.

"Steve and I-" 

"We don't..." Bucky and Steve were speaking over each other at this point. Ned and Peter had stayed silent trying not to laugh out of respect, even though these _hundred year old men_ were acting kinda fucking goofy. And honestly, Peter had heard Tony's many jokes about the clueless super soldiers, and even he could see it. And Peter can be pretty clueless.

"Oh." Michelle still seemed calm. "I just kind of assumed, I mean you live together, and my sister gave me these queer theory books, they analysed some of your guy's old letters, I mean not to be up in your business they just seemed a little _intense_ , I guess..." She trailed off at the end, hoping they got the point, and that she could be forgiven for saying something so stupid in front of _Captain fucking America_. 

Suddenly, Bucky just laughed. It came suddenly, like the first clap at the end of a play.

"It's okay, kiddo. Y'know I remember, back before Stevie over here got the serum, a couple times people would mistake him for a dame, think we were going steady. Ha, he used to get all flustered-" Bucky started going off on a tangent, and Steve was still staying silent. It had been awhile since anyone had brought up him and Bucky's _thing_. Just took him a minute to get back to real life, that's all.

\---------

Eventually, things got back to normal, and Bucky even started to help answer some of the groups many questions. 

"-Yeah, so I had finished basic, and got to go home for about a week, even had time to go this science-expo with Steve, saw Howard Stark try and make a car fly-"

"You knew Howard Stark?" Ned interrupted.

"Well, not at the time, but we did once I became cap'. He was the one who made my first shield." Steve replied.

"Oh yeah! I remember they talked about that in history class, it's made out vibranium, right? They even talked about the science of it in physics." Peter butted in. Everyone nodded along.

"I'll be right back, I'm just gonna get a glass of water." Michelle said casually.

"Oh can you get me a glass?" Peter asked, trying to be as respectful as possible. Aunt May had raised him to always ask for things respectfully, especially from a lady.

"Yeah, me too." Ned nodded his head at her. Michelle rolled her eyes. She went from having to get one to three glasses of water really quick.

"Here kid, I'll come help." Michelle nodded, following Bucky into the kitchen. He grabbed three glasses from the cabinet, allowing Michelle to fill them up as he went to grab a coke for himself. He was lucky super soldiers couldn't get cavities. 

"Sorry for saying that stuff earlier, I didn't realize you guys weren't, like that, I guess I just assumed, I shouldn't have-" Michelle was looking down at her hands as she filled up the cups with tap water, avoiding meeting Bucky's eyes. He just laughed lightly. He always did that. Laughed it off. Seemed like he had been doing it for a long time.

"Kid. You really don't need to apologize. Besides, I could care less. Not the first time it's happened, Steve can just get embarrassed, that's all. Even now that he's all buff, he can still get meek." Michelle looked up at him.

"You know you don't have to call me kid. My names Michelle." Bucky shrugged.

"Kid's easier." He took a sip of his soda. Michelle paused.

"Even if you're not, like, together, the way you talk about Steve is sweet." She chuckled to herself. "Reminds me of my grand-parents." Bucky smiled at that.

"Well, two people can get like that after they know each other for a century." He looked over at her. "Y'know, according to Steve, spider-kid talks pretty sweetly of you, too." Michelle flushed a deep red, averting her eyes, and sneaking a glace at Peter, but not long enough for him to notice.

"Me and Peter-"

"Aren't like that?" Michelle raised her eyebrows.

" _Touché_." 

\---------

Soon enough, all three teens said their goodbyes, swiftly making their way out of the super-residence. 

"Never a dull moment." Steve said to himself, closing the door softly after making sure the kids made their way to the elevator okay. He turned too Bucky, who was sitting on the couch, staring at the TV.

"What are we watching?" Bucky turned to him as he sat down.

"Something called ' _Tiny house renovation : extreme_ '." He chuckled. " _Stephanie wants a house downtown near her job, but Mark wants a houseboat_ , because everyone does, _how will they ever find the perfect fit for them, their three cats, and their newborn baby?"_ Steve snorted, almost out of disbelief.

"Perfect." They stayed like that, staring at the screen aimlessly, their legs up on the coffee table, for a good ten minutes, before Bucky moved his head onto Steve's shoulder. He stiffened up at the contact, but eventually settled into it.

"Buck-"

"What? Isn't this what we always do?" Steve looked at him, but Bucky still stared straight. "We do this dance, and act like it's just normal? ' _Bucky and Steve, oh they're just close buds'_." Bucky finally turned to face Steve, looking at his face, like he was searching for answers. "Right?"

"I-" And that was it. Seventy years of waiting, and the final push came from a _teenage girl_. Well, the final push may have been MJ. But the final straw was Steve. Because he was still there, clueless as ever, and he finally realized. Bucky could say anything, and it wouldn't seem to get through Steve's thick scull. And you know what they say, actions speak louder than words.

So Bucky kissed him. And Steve did the only thing he could ask of him. He kissed back.


End file.
